You regularly clean window air conditioner air filters. You also checked you have the perfect level of refrigerant, no leaks but why sometimes your window air conditioner still not blowing cold air?
Well, it’s all about airflow. Did you know that if you have clogged airflow, the energy usage of your air conditioning system increases by over 30% too? Not only do you feel this difference on your skin on a hot day but also you’ll definitely feel it on your electricity bill.
So, it’s not enough to just clean your filters at least once a month. It’s also important that you clean your evaporator coils blowers and condensers once every three months. Dust dirt gunk grease and even molds are the common stuff that can steer to impede the efficient flow of air across the AC parts. The best way to clean them off is to remove and take down the unit from the wall and clean with a pressure washer and detergent outdoors because some of these impurities are so stubborn.
It would be very difficult to get rid of them with just in a vacuum in brush or a damp cloth and even if you could there are certain parts that are just not readily accessible to give them a proper cleaning but in order to keep your air conditioner efficient, an air conditioner technician will charge you A FEE to remove the entire assembly from the wall, dismantle it outdoor and clean it with a pressure washer and some cheap detergent so in a way you are saving money by keeping your AC clean and efficient but ironically spending those savings on professional fees.
So how can you do it yourself with lesser hassle and really save money?
Just to drive home the point this is a 10-year-old carrier 0.5 horsepower window type aircon and letting it run for ten minutes. Let’s see the coldest air that could possibly produce after scanning 14 times with four-second intervals. The lowest temperature it can generate is nine degrees Celsius
I would say this is still pretty ok considering that the temperature at the far side of the room is actually 32 degrees Celsius in essence the AC has been returning air 23 degrees Celsius lower than the incoming air but can we make it return even colder air because the faster the room gets to our desired temperature, the sooner the compressor can rest and therefore cut back on power consumption and oh just to get it out of the way decreasing the thermostat.
Does it make the AC blow colder air worse? It even makes your compressor work harder and run longer which translates to a ridiculously high electric bill.
So how to clean a window air conditioner without removing it from the wall?
The simple answer is using an air conditioner cleaner! There are many brands out there but what I’m using is an unclog air con cleaner which I bought online. It can clean and decontaminate either your home or car air conditioner.
It removes bad odors and prevents germ growth. We just spray it so you don’t have to dismantle anything. It solves cooling problems and thereby maintains the energy efficiency and prolongs the life of your AC.
It can also be used to clean the screen and casing of your laptop or computer. Its active ingredients are deionized water ethyl alcohol detergent and fragrance at the back of the camp are instructions on how to use it either on your AC inter-unit or your car’s AC.
Shake it well before using it. It comes with a hose to dispense it on your car’s AC blower and the nozzle for your air conditioner indoor unit.
How to pressure wash a window air conditioner
Total Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes
You need to spray it from a distance of about 10 centimeters on every part of the window air conditioner where stubborn dirt and grease are stuck
Spray it onto the evaporator coils and fins. Don’t forget to spray inside the blower fan too.
After a couple of minutes, the foam will start to dissolve and even drip so I would recommend covering the area directly underneath with a large towel.
You’re supposed to let the product sit for at least 20 minutes but just to give you an idea this is how it may look like after 10 minutes.
By this time it will have transformed from a foamy texture into what appears like soap suds and I can tell you right now it smells so good like fresh laundry. It now has broken down the dust and grease trapped within every nook and cranny and even removed the molds. Did you know that mold is one of the reasons why the air coming from your a/c smells musty or foul?
While waiting for the full 20 minutes, we can also spray the product into the condenser coils outside
The same liberal amount in the same 10-centimeter distance. This is also a good time to wash the air filters.
After 15 minutes, you will notice how the impurities have been broken apart and are now sliding downwards
You might wonder where do they all go after being fully dissolved through your window air conditioner drain hose outside.
After 20 minutes, you can start placing back your clean window air conditioner filter and wiping the housing to get rid of any product residue
You don’t need to wait for everything to completely dry and the product will remain active after 2 days.
Let’s start it up and wait for 10 minutes to reach its operating temperature
If you are curious this is how the condenser coils outside look like now even from here I can smell a clean sweet fragrance.
